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Interac Association and Retail Council of Canada Announce Top Applicant of 2012 Retail as a Career Scholarship Program

TORONTO, June 5, 2012 /CNW/ - Interac Association and Retail Council of
Canada (RCC) are pleased to announce the name of the top applicant of
the 2012 Retail as a Career Scholarship Program, a program that honours
students entering or enrolled in a business, marketing or
retail-related program at a Canadian post-secondary institution.

Michaela Atkinson, currently enrolled at Ryerson University in Toronto,
is the winner of the $5,000 scholarship, funded by Interac Association.

Ms. Atkinson was one of 22 post-secondary students from across the
country awarded $1,000 scholarships to assist in their pursuit of
retail as a career. Interac Association awarded an additional $5,000
scholarship to the top applicant among the 24 finalists.

"Interac Association is a committed partner of the retail industry and
we are proud to work with the Retail Council of Canada to help name the
top applicant of the 2012 Retail as a Career Scholarship Program," said
Mark O'Connell, CEO & President, Interac Association. "We congratulate
Ms. Atkinson on her winning submission and hope that this additional
scholarship will help her achieve her educational and professional
pursuits."

Over the past nine years, RCC and its sponsors have given more than
$400,000 in scholarships and award benefits to students who exemplify
excellence in retail and demonstrate a strong commitment to the future
of retail through their education. The Retail as a Career Scholarship
Program continues to grow each year, both in the number of applicants
and in the number of retailers who provide the additional funding
needed to increase the number of scholarships available.

"We are very grateful to Interac Association for its continued support
of this very important award which will help Ms. Atkinson in her
academic endeavours and pursuit of a career in retail," said Diane J.
Brisebois, President and CEO, Retail Council of Canada. "I also want
to thank all of our program sponsors for their generous contributions,
which will help students further their education and develop the skills
required to succeed in retail."

About Retail Council of Canada
Retail Council of Canada (www.retailcouncil.org) has been the Voice of Retail in Canada since 1963. RCC is a
not-for-profit, industry-funded association representing more than
43,000 store fronts of all retail formats across Canada, including
department, specialty, discount, and independent stores, and online
merchants.

About Interac Association

A recognized world leader in debit card services, Interac Association is
responsible for the development and operations of the Interac® network, a national payment network that allows Canadians to access
their money through 59,000 Automated Banking Machines and 727,000
point-of-sale terminals across Canada. Interac Association was founded
in 1984 and is comprised of a diverse membership that includes banks,
trust companies, credit unions, caisses populaires, merchants, and
technology and payment related companies.

Other related services offered by Acxsys Corporation, whose shareholders
are the architects of the Interac network, include: Interac Online, for secure online payments made directly from a bank account; Interac e-TransferTM, for the secure online transfer of money from one person's bank account
to another person's bank account, and international services, which
provide Canadian cardholders with point-of-sale access at nearly 2
million U.S. retailers, and PULSE, Discover, Diners Club International
and UnionPay cardholders access to ABMs in Canada.

®, ™: Interac, and Interac e-Transfer are trade-marks of Interac Inc. Used under license.